Fire at Newman Center results in $5,000 of damages, no injuries

A fire at the Catholic Newman Center at Northern Arizona University (NAU) on March 23 resulted in approximately $5,000 in damage to the property and contents.

According to a press release from Flagstaff Fire Department, the fire was caused by flames from a gas hot water heater in a utility room, which ignited nearby materials. The flames melted a plastic water line from an icemaker filter and leaked water onto the flames, ultimately extinguishing the fire.

A sprinkler system was not in place and smoke detectors were not functioning at the time of the fire.

A church member discovered the results of the fire.

“It was just the blessing that someone stopped by and called the fire department,” said Angela Vargas, ministry assistant, said. “Luckily, it was already put out and Sunday Mass was still held the next day.”

The damages were contained to the utility room and there were no injuries